High court considering Arkansas alcohol measure LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A lawyer for the group challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize alcohol sales statewide told Arkansas' highest court Thursday that the secretary of state should have opened his office on Independence Day to process petitions and avoid missing a key deadline. Citizens for Local Rights argues that petitions in support of the measure are invalid because they were accepted the next business day. Under ...

City Council takes no action on Alliance funding suspensionThe Russellville City Council took no action during Thursday’s special meeting which centered around the organization responsible for economic development, and a request to suspend funding from the city which totals nearly $150,000 annually. The sole topic of the called meeting was funding for the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED). Before and after discussion that lasted an hour — sometimes heated and loud — Alderwoman ...

Dow plunges 334, its worst day of 2014 NEW YORK (AP) — Just one day after the market had its best day of 2014, it had its worst day of 2014. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 334 points on Thursday as a decline in energy stocks and worries about the global economy sent investors fleeing out of the market. It was the biggest point drop since June 2013. It was also the third straight day investors have been taken on a wild roller coaster ride. On Tuesday the Dow fell 272 point...

Wal-Mart cuts health benefits for some part-timers NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to eliminate health insurance coverage for some of its part-time U.S. employees in a move aimed at controlling rising health care costs of the nation's largest private employer. Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that starting Jan. 1, it will no longer offer health insurance to employees who work less than an average of 30 hours a week. The move affects 30,000 employees, or about 5 percent of Wal-Mart...

CenturyLink to connect teachers with technology by offering $20,000 in grants in ArkansasCenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) is connecting teachers with technology for the classroom. The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation’s Teachers and Technology grant program opened its application process Oct. 1 for teachers in CenturyLink’s local service areas who want to innovatively implement technology in their classrooms to increase student achievement. Full-time PreK-12 classroom teachers in public or private schools in CenturyLink resid...

Arkansas sees revenue drop in September LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas finance officials say the state's revenue in September dipped below expectations by nearly $10 million. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said Thursday that net available revenue in September totaled $520.7 million. That's $2.1 million below the same month last year and $9.7 million below the state's forecast. Finance officials say a drop in sales tax collections accounted for $8.1 million of the...

Wal-Mart Markets opening in northeast Mississippi TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Some Tupelo businesses and residents aren't too thrilled about the possibility of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. building three of its smaller-format Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets in the city, but they may not be able to halt what appears to be inevitable. The retailer is quickly making good on its pledge to open 300 Neighborhood Markets across the country this year, and four of them will open in Northeast Mississippi. Wal-Mart has ...

Court appoints master in wage increase lawsuit LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' highest court has appointed a former state appeals judge to review evidence in the lawsuit that aims to remove a proposed minimum wage increase from the November ballot. The state Supreme Court on Thursday appointed John B. Robbins as a special master to hold hearings and review evidence regarding the lawsuit filed by Little Rock businessman Jackson T. Stephens Jr. Stephens is challenging the validity of the signat...

New owners make subtle changes at Old SouthNew owners of the Old South Restaurant said they will keep the Russellville classic contemporary with subtle changes. When father-and-son partners Dale and Zach Summitt took ownership of the restaurant about five months ago, they wanted to improve the 67-year-old building without changing its character. “We are trying to clean it up without changing the building’s atmosphere,” Zach Summitt said. He said the team is also subtly changing the men...

Rendering plant manager grilled by Russellville City Council The Russellville City Council, in front of nearly a packed house in the City Hall’s second-floor chambers, told Premium Protein Products manager Danny Craig they wanted a solution to the “smells and stench” that have permeated the city for several years. Long-time resident L.J. Faaborg told aldermen the smell from the rendering plant has been in the local air for 30-plus years, and the city “had not done a darn thing about it.” “I’m tired of s...

Don't be surprised by retiree healthcare costsRetirement isn't cheap. Even though you're no longer drawing a paycheck, you still must pay for housing, food, utilities, transportation and healthcare, to name just a few expenses. As prices continue to escalate, it's not surprising that the ages at which people expect to retire – and when they actually do – have crept up in recent years. Speaking of healthcare costs, here's a number that'll stop you in your tracks: According to an annual Fid...

Grants awarded for upgrades at 8 airports LITTLE ROCK (AP) — U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor and John Boozman and Rep. Steve Womack have announced a total of more than $4.1 million in federal grants to eight Arkansas airports. The Federal Aviation Administration grants are to be used to support upgrades and expansions at the airports. The eight airports are the Calico Rock-Izard County Airport; Fordyce Municipal Airport; Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport; Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport;...

Cabin interior firm announces facility LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A French aircraft cabin interior manufacturer said Wednesday that it is spending $2.5 million to open a new facility in Arkansas that will initially employ 75 people. Beaudet Aviation said its new facility is adjacent to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport and that it will supply Dassault Falcon Jet with completion work for its Falcon models. Beaudet Aviation is a subsidiary of JCB Aero. "We aspire to recreate an e...

NRA launches $1.3M ad buy for Cotton LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The National Rifle Association on Tuesday said it's launching a $1.3 million television ad campaign to promote Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton's bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, a little over a year after the group ran radio ads defending Pryor's record on guns. The NRA said the 30-second spot will begin running in Little Rock and Jonesboro starting Wednesday and will run for at least four weeks. The ad touts the gr...

Freight brokerage company to open Lowell facility LOWELL (AP) — A freight brokerage company has announced plans to open an office in Lowell in northwestern Arkansas and hire up to 50 employees. Total Quality Logistics said Tuesday that it will invest $250,000 and that hiring will begin immediately. The Cincinnati-based company says most of the jobs are sales positions. The company connects shippers who have truckload freight that needs to be moved with carriers who have the capacity to move i...

Russellville’s Superior Graphite celebrates 30th anniversaryOn Sept. 12, a celebration was held at the Dow Park recognizing Superior Graphite’s Russellville plant for 30 years of operation. Superior Graphite has been in business since 1917. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, the company is 70% privately owned and 30% employee owned (ESOP). The company has eight manufacturing sites worldwide and sells its products globally. The Russellville Plant produces graphite electrodes and shapes. The graphite electrod...